View source for Damsel in distress

{{Short description|Trope and stock character in storytelling}}
{{use Oxford English|date=July 2025}}
{{other uses|Damsel in Distress (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Dicksee-Chivalry-1885.jpg|thumb|[[Frank Bernard Dicksee]]'s 1885 painting ''Chivalry'']]

The '''damsel in distress''' is a [[narrative device]] in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has been kidnapped or placed in other peril. The "damsel" is often portrayed as beautiful, popular, and of high [[social status]]; she is usually depicted as a princess in works with fantasy or [[fairy tale]] settings. Kinship, love, lust or a combination of those motivate the male protagonist to initiate the narrative,<ref name="FemFreq1">{{cite web |url=https://feministfrequency.com/video/damsel-in-distress-part-1/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030203310/https://feministfrequency.com/video/damsel-in-distress-part-1/ |title=Damsel in Distress (Part 1) Tropes vs Women |last=Sarkeesian |first=Anita |author-link=Anita Sarkeesian |website=Feminist Frequency |date=March 7, 2013 |archive-date=October 30, 2016 |access-date=August 9, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> and potentially become a [[hero]] of [[Courage|valour]].

Critics have linked the helplessness of these women to societal views that women as a group need to be taken care of by men and treated nicely.<ref name="FemFreq1" /> Throughout the history of the [[Trope (literature)|trope]], the role of the woman as the victim in need of a male savior has remained constant, but her attackers have changed to suit the tastes and collective fears of the period: "[[monster]]s, [[mad scientist]]s, [[Nazism|Nazis]], [[hippie]]s, [[Outlaw motorcycle club|bikers]], [[Extraterrestrial life|aliens]]..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flashbak.com/when-natives-attack-white-damsels-and-jungle-savages-in-pulp-fiction-28233/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102164943/http://flashbak.com/when-natives-attack-white-damsels-and-jungle-savages-in-pulp-fiction-28233/ |title=When Natives Attack! White Damsels and Jungle Savages in Pulp Fiction |last=Lowbrow |first=Yeoman |website=Flashbak |publisher=Alum Media |date=December 28, 2014 |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |access-date=August 9, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word "damsel" derives from the French {{lang|fr|[[wiktionary:demoiselle|demoiselle]]}}, meaning 'young lady', and the term "damsel in distress" in turn is a translation of the French {{lang|fr|demoiselle en détresse}}. It is an [[Archaism|archaic term]] not used in modern English except for effect or in expressions such as this. It can be traced back to the [[knight-errant]] of Medieval songs and tales, who regarded protection of women as an essential part of the [[Chivalry|chivalric code]], which includes a notion of [[honour]] and [[nobility]].<ref>[[Johan Huizinga]] remarks in his book ''[[The Autumn of the Middle Ages|The Waning of the Middle Ages]]'', "the source of the chivalrous idea, is pride aspiring to beauty, and formalised pride gives rise to a conception of honour, which is the pole of noble life". Huizinga, ''[[The Autumn of the Middle Ages|The Waning of the Middle Ages]]'' (1919) 1924:58.</ref> The English term "damsel in distress" itself first seems to have appeared in [[Richard Ames (poet)|Richard Ames]]'s 1692 poem "Sylvia's Complaint of Her Sexes Unhappiness."<ref>{{cite book|last=Ames|first=Richard|title=Sylvia's Complaint of Her Sexes Unhappiness : a Poem, Being the Second Part of Sylvia's Revenge, Or, a Satyr Against Man|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDW-gC3gqx8C&pg=PA1|year=1692|publisher=Richard Baldwin|location=London|page=12}}</ref>{{npsn|date=July 2025}}

== History ==

=== Ancient history ===
[[File:Gustave Doré Andromeda.jpg|thumb|[[Gustave Doré]]'s depiction of [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]] chained to the rock{{--}}a [[Romantic art|Romantic]]-era portrayal of the damsel in distress from [[Greek mythology]]|alt=A naked woman chained by the wrists to a large rock by the sea; a sea serpent looking to lunge through crashing waves]]

The damsel in distress theme featured in the stories of the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]]. [[Greek mythology]], while featuring a large retinue of competent [[List of Greek deities|goddesses]], also contains helpless [[maiden]]s threatened with [[human sacrifice]]. For example, [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]]'s [[Cassiopeia (Queen of Ethiopia)|mother]] offended the [[Nereids]] and [[Poseidon]], who sent a [[Cetus (mythology)|beast]] to ravage the land. To appease him Andromeda's parents fastened her to a rock in the sea. The hero [[Perseus]] slew the beast, saving Andromeda.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=975}} Andromeda in her plight, chained naked to a rock, became a favorite theme of later painters. This theme of the [[princess and dragon]] is also pursued in the myth of [[Saint George and the Dragon|Saint George]]. The homosexual variant is also present in the stories of [[Cleostratus (mythology)|Cleostratus]] and [[Alcyoneus (son of Diomos)|Alcyoneus]], youths who are to be sacrificed to man-eating serpentine monsters before they are saved by their love interests [[Menestratus (Thespiae)|Menestratus]] and [[Eurybarus]] respectively.<ref>{{cite book | title = Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History | pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=40cxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 148–150] | first = Debbie | last = Felton | publisher = University of Texas | location = Austin, US | date = 2021 | isbn = 978-1-4773-0379-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=40cxEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

=== Post-classical history ===
European [[fairy tale]]s frequently feature damsels in distress. Evil [[witches]] trapped [[Rapunzel]] in a tower, cursed Snow White to die in ''[[Snow White]]'', and put the princess into a magical sleep in ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]''. In all of these, a valorous prince comes to the maiden's aid, saves her, and marries her (though Rapunzel is not directly saved by the prince, but instead saves him from [[blindness]] after her exile){{Clarify|reason=|date=December 2020}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unga Fakta - Grekisk mytologi|url=http://www.ungafakta.se/grekiskmytologi/manniskorna/troja/troja.asp|access-date=2022-05-10|website=www.ungafakta.se|language=sv}}</ref>

The damsel in distress was an archetypal character of medieval romances, where typically she was rescued from imprisonment in a tower of a castle by a [[knight-errant]]. [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Clerk's Tale]]'' of the repeated trials and bizarre torments of patient [[Griselda (folklore)|Griselda]] was drawn from [[Petrarch]]. The [[Emprise de l'Escu vert à la Dame Blanche]] (founded 1399) was a [[Order of chivalry|chivalric order]] with the express purpose of protecting oppressed ladies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chivalry or The Chivalric Code|url=https://webpages.uidaho.edu/engl257/Medieval/chivalry.htm|access-date=2022-05-10|website=webpages.uidaho.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120171151/https://webpages.uidaho.edu/engl257/Medieval/chivalry.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-01-20}}</ref>

[[File:Paolo Uccello 050.jpg|thumb|[[Paolo Uccello]]'s depiction of [[Saint George]] and the dragon, {{c.|1470}}, a classic image of a damsel in distress]]
The theme also features in the medieval legend of [[Saint George]] who saved a princess from being devoured by a [[dragon]]. A late addition to this saint's [[hagiography]], not attested in the several first centuries when he was venerated, it is nowadays the main act for which Saint George is remembered.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC - History - Historic Figures: St George (?–303)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_st.shtml|access-date=2024-06-18|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Obscure outside Norway is [[Hallvard Vebjørnsson]], the Patron Saint of [[Oslo]], recognised as a martyr after being killed while valiantly trying to defend a woman{{mdash}}most likely a [[slavery|slave]]{{mdash}}from three men accusing her of theft.

===Modern history===

====17th century====
In the 17th century English [[ballad]] ''[[The Spanish Lady]]'' (one of several English and Irish songs with that name), a Spanish lady captured by an English captain falls in love with her captor and begs him not to set her free but to take her with him to England, and in this appeal describes herself as "A lady in distress".<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.contemplator.com/england/slady.html |title = Spanish Lady}}</ref>{{npsn|date=August 2025}}

====18th century====
The damsel in distress makes her debut in the modern novel as the title character of [[Samuel Richardson]]'s ''[[Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady|Clarissa]]'' (1748), where she is menaced by the wicked [[seducer]] Lovelace. The phrase "damsel in distress" is found in Richardson's ''[[The History of Sir Charles Grandison]]'' (1753):<ref>{{cite book |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/inu.30000115373627?urlappend=%3Bseq=98 |page=92 |title=The History of Sir Charles Grandison |volume=ii |year=1754 |location=London |publisher=S. Richardson |first=Samuel |last=Richardson |hdl=2027/inu.30000115373627?urlappend=%3Bseq=98 }}</ref> {{blockquote|And he is sometimes a mighty Prince ... and I am a damsel in distress}}

Reprising her medieval role, the damsel in distress is a staple character of [[Gothic literature]], where she is typically incarcerated in a castle or monastery and menaced by a [[Sadomasochism|sadistic]] nobleman, or members of the religious orders. Early examples in this genre include Matilda in [[Horace Walpole]]'s ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]'', Emily in [[Ann Radcliffe]]'s ''[[The Mysteries of Udolpho]]'', and Antonia in [[Matthew Lewis (writer)|Matthew Lewis]]'s ''[[The Monk]]''.

The perils faced by this Gothic heroine were taken to an extreme by the [[Marquis de Sade]] in ''[[The Misfortunes of Virtue|Justine]]'', who exposed the [[erotic]] [[subtext]] which lay beneath the damsel-in-distress scenario.

[[File:The Knight Errant b John Everett Millais 1870.jpg|right|thumb|[[John Everett Millais]]'s ''[[The Knight Errant (painting)|The Knight Errant]]'' of 1870 saves a damsel in distress and underlines the erotic subtext of the genre.]]
One exploration of the theme of the persecuted maiden is the fate of Gretchen in [[Goethe's Faust|Goethe's ''Faust'']]. According to the philosopher [[Schopenhauer]]:

<blockquote>"The great Goethe has given us a distinct and visible description of this denial of the will, brought about by great misfortune and by the despair of all deliverance, in his immortal masterpiece Faust, in the story of the sufferings of Gretchen. I know of no other description in poetry. It is a perfect specimen of the second path, which leads to the denial of the will not, like the first, through the mere knowledge of the suffering of the whole world which one acquires voluntarily, but through the excessive pain felt in one's own person. It is true that many tragedies bring their violently willing heroes ultimately to this point of complete resignation, and then the will-to-live and its phenomenon usually end at the same time. But no description known to me brings to us the essential point of that conversion so distinctly and so free from everything extraneous as the one mentioned in Faust" (''[[The World as Will and Representation]]'', Vol. I, §68)</blockquote>

====19th century====
The misadventures of the damsel in distress of the Gothic novel continued in a somewhat [[caricature]]d form in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[melodrama]]. According to Michael Booth in his classic study ''English Melodrama'', the Victorian stage melodrama featured a limited number of stock characters: the hero, the villain, the heroine, an old man, an old woman, a comic man and a comic woman engaged in a [[Sensationalism|sensational]] plot featuring themes of love and murder. Often the good but not very clever hero is duped by a scheming villain, who has eyes on the damsel in distress until [[fate]] intervenes to ensure the triumph of good over evil.<ref>{{Cite book |first = Michael |last = Booth |title = English Melodrama |publisher = Herbert Jenkins |year = 1965}}</ref>

Such melodrama influenced the fledgling [[film industry]] and led to damsels in distress being the subject of many early [[silent films]], especially those that were made as multi-episode [[Serial film|serials]]. Early examples include ''[[The Adventures of Kathlyn]]'' in 1913 and ''[[The Hazards of Helen]]'', which ran from 1914 to 1917. The silent film heroines frequently faced new perils provided by the [[Industrial Revolution]] and catering to the new medium's need for visual spectacle. Here we find the heroine tied to a [[railway track]], burning buildings, and [[explosions]]. [[Sawmills]] were another stereotypical danger of the Industrial age, as recorded in a popular song from a later era:
{{cquote|... A bad [[gunslinger]] called Salty Sam was chasin' poor Sweet Sue<br>
He trapped her in the old sawmill and said with an evil laugh,<br>
If you don't give me the deed to your ranch<br>
I'll saw you all in half!<br>
And then he grabbed her (and then)<br>
He tied her up (and then)<br>
He turned on the bandsaw (and then, and then...!) ...
|30px|10px|''[[Along Came Jones (song)|Along Came Jones]]'' by [[The Coasters]]}}

====20th century====
{{refimprove section|date=August 2025}}
[[File:Perilsofnyoka.JPG|thumb|Jungle girl Nyoka, played by [[Kay Aldridge]], frequently found herself in distress in ''[[Perils of Nyoka]].'']]
[[File:Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life.jpg|thumb|left|''Barney Oldfield's A Race for a Life'' [1913] with left to right:Hank Mann;  Ford Serling; At St John and in foreground Mabel Normand]]
[[File:Captain_Future_1940_Summer.jpg|thumb|left|Pulp Science Fiction hero [[Captain Future]] in the act of saving a Damsel in distress (cover art by [[Earle K. Bergey]])]]
[[File:Gloria Swanson in Teddy at the Throttle.jpg|thumb|Gloria Swanson in ''Teddy at the Throttle'' (1917)]]
During the [[First World War]], the imagery of a Damsel in Distress was extensively used in [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] propaganda (see illustrations). Particularly, the Imperial German conquest and occupation of Belgium was commonly referred to as [[The Rape of Belgium]] – effectively transforming Allied soldiers into knights bent on saving that rape victim.{{or inline|date=August 2025}} This was expressed explicitly in the lyrics of "[[Keep the Home Fires Burning (1914 song)|Keep the Home Fires Burning]]" mentioning the "boys" as having gone to help a "Nation in Distress".{{npsn|date=August 2025}}

A form of entertainment in which the damsel-in-distress emerged as a stereotype at this time was [[stage magic]]. Restraining attractive female assistants and imperiling them with blades and spikes became a staple of 20th century magicians' acts. Noted illusion designer and historian [[Jim Steinmeyer]] identifies the beginning of this phenomenon as coinciding with the introduction of the "[[sawing a woman in half]]" illusion. In 1921 magician [[P. T. Selbit]] became the first to present such an act to the public. Steinmeyer observes that: "Before Selbit's illusion, it was not a cliche that pretty ladies were teased and tortured by magicians. Since the days of [[Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin|Robert-Houdin]], both men and women were used as the subjects for magic illusions". However, changes in fashion and great social upheavals during the first decades of the 20th century made Selbit's choice of "victim" both practical and popular. The trauma of war had helped to desensitise the public to violence and the emancipation of women had changed attitudes to them. Audiences were tiring of older, more genteel forms of magic. It took something shocking, such as the horrific productions of the [[Grand Guignol]] theatre, to cause a sensation in this age. Steinmeyer concludes that: "beyond practical concerns, the image of the woman in peril became a specific fashion in entertainment".<ref name="hiding">{{cite book |title = Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible |first = Jim |last = Steinmeyer |publisher = William Heinemann/Random House |year = 2003 |pages = 277–295 |isbn = 0-434-01325-0}}</ref>

The damsel-in-distress continued as a mainstay of the comics, film, and television industries throughout the 20th century. Imperiled heroines in need of rescue were a frequent occurrence in black-and-white [[film serial]]s made by studios such as [[Columbia Pictures]], [[Mascot Pictures]], [[Republic Pictures]], and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] in the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. These serials sometimes drew inspiration for their characters and plots from adventure novels and comic books. Notable examples include the character [[Nyoka the Jungle Girl]], whom [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] created for comic books and who was later adapted into a serial heroine in the Republic productions ''[[Jungle Girl (serial)|Jungle Girl]]'' (1941) and its sequel ''[[Perils of Nyoka]]'' (1942).{{citation needed|reason=Citation needed for Nyoka as fitting the "damsel in distress" trope, given that she at least arguably seems to better fit the "empowered damsel" trope; for instance the comic book cover that currently illustrates the infobox at the start of her article shows her armed with a spear and seemingly bravely confronting a charging lioness.|date=September 2021}} Additional classic damsels in that mold were [[Jane Porter (Tarzan)|Jane Porter]], in both the novel and movie versions of ''[[Tarzan]]'', and Ann Darrow, as played by [[Fay Wray]] in the movie ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'' (1933), in one of the most iconic instances. The notorious hoax documentary ''[[Ingagi]]'' (1930) also featured this idea, and Wray's role was repeated by [[Jessica Lange]] and [[Naomi Watts]] in remakes. As journalist Andrew Erish has noted: "Gorillas plus sexy women in peril equals enormous profits".<ref name="Erish">{{Cite journal |url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies |title = Illegitimate dad of 'Kong'; One of the Depression's highest-grossing films was an outrageous fabrication, a scandalous and suggestive gorilla epic that set box office records across the country |first = Andrew |last = Erish |journal = Los Angeles Times |date = 8 January 2006 |access-date = 5 July 2017 |archive-date = 14 March 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130314080024/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies |url-status = dead }}</ref> Small screen iconic portrayals, this time in children's cartoons, are [[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]'s girlfriend, [[List of Underdog characters#Sweet Polly Purebred|Sweet Polly Purebred]] and Nell Fenwick, who is often rescued by inept Mountie [[Dudley Do-Right]]. On the original ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' TV series, the television newswoman [[April O'Neil]] was repeatedly held captive by the evil [[Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Shredder]] and often needed to be rescued by the titular turtles.

The [[James Bond]] novels of [[Ian Fleming]], originally published in the 1950s and 1960s, would sometimes feature the "[[Bond girl]]" tied up by a villain and needing to be rescued by Bond, and this theme continued into a number of the films, produced from the early 1960s onward, including ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'', ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'', ''[[Octopussy]]'' and ''[[Spectre (2015 film)|Spectre]]'', all of which show Bond rescuing the female lead, who has been tied up. In some films, Bond and a female character are tied up together (for example, in ''[[Live and Let Die (film)|Live and Let Die]]'' and ''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]''). In other films, Bond is shown tied up and in peril (examples include ''[[Goldfinger (film)|Goldfinger]]'', ''[[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]]'', ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'', ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]]'' and ''[[Skyfall]]'') and in some cases is rescued by the female lead (such as in ''[[Licence to Kill]]'' and ''[[Spectre (2015 film)|Spectre]]'').

The protagonists of the [[Disney Princess]] franchise are often depicted as damsels in distress, with the leads of ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' and ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' requiring rescue by Prince love interest from a witch's evil plan. Scholars have noted the emphasis on youth and femininity in these narratives: with the damsel princess being depicted as youthful and [[Feminine beauty ideal|hyperfeminine]], while their witch captors are older "evil [[Femme fatale|femme fatales]] or ugly hags" embodying masculine traits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wohlwend |first=Karen E. |date=2009-01-03 |title=Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess Play |url=https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1598/RRQ.44.1.3 |journal=Reading Research Quarterly |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=57–83 |doi=10.1598/RRQ.44.1.3 |issn=0034-0553|hdl=2022/3463 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

Frequently cited examples of a damsel in distress in comics include [[Lois Lane]], who was eternally getting into trouble and needing to be rescued by [[Superman]], and [[Olive Oyl]], who was in a near-constant state of kidnap, requiring her to be saved by [[Popeye]].

Coined by [[Gail Simone]] in 1999, "[[women in refrigerators]]" is a [[Trope (literature)|literary trope]] where female characters are injured, sexually assaulted, killed, or depowered (an event colloquially known as '''fridging'''), sometimes to stimulate "protective" traits, and often as a [[plot device]] intended to move a male character's story arc forward.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Seale |first=Jack |date=2018-09-21 |title=From Bond to ITV's Strangers: why is everyone 'fridging'? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/sep/21/from-bond-to-itvs-strangers-why-is-everyone-fridging |access-date=2024-06-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sauer |first=Emma |date=2022-03-16 |title="Fridging Women": How the Comics Industry Flubs Female Characters - UMKC Women's Center |url=https://info.umkc.edu/womenc/2022/03/16/fridging-women-how-the-comics-industry-flubs-female-characters/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=info.umkc.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> The phrase is used to analyze why such plot devices are used disproportionately on female characters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Ralph |title=How Shrinking perpetuates Hollywood's most sexist cliché |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230315-how-shrinking-perpetuates-hollywoods-most-sexist-clich |website=bbc.com |date=16 March 2023 |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 March 2023}}</ref> It refers to an incident in ''[[Green Lantern]]'' vol. 3 #54 (1994), written by [[Ron Marz]], in which [[Kyle Rayner]], the title hero, comes home to his apartment to find that the villain [[Major Force]] had killed his girlfriend, [[Alexandra DeWitt]], and stuffed her in a refrigerator.<ref>Condon, Michael (October 2002). [http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing49/condonquiz.shtml "The Fanzig Challenge"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710224321/http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing49/condonquiz.shtml |date=2011-07-10 }}. Fanzing. Retrieved January 11, 2006.</ref><ref name="Yahoo">Prowse-Gany, Brian (August 12, 2015). [https://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/rise-of-the-female-superhero-ever-since-superman-126459307033.html "Rise of the Female Superhero"]. [[Yahoo! News]].</ref> Simone and a number of collaborators created the website [[Women in Refrigerators]] which hosts a list of works which they believe express the trope.<ref name="Yahoo" />
{{clear}}

== Critical and theoretical responses ==
[[File:Perilsofpauline.jpg|thumb|A poster for ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]]'' (1914)]]
[[File:French caricature on the Romanian-German Peace Treaty.jpg|thumb|[[Romania]] as a helpless "damsel in distress" threatened by the brutal [[Imperial Germany]], in a French World War I caricature]]
[[File:Harry R. Hopps, Destroy this mad brute Enlist - U.S. Army, 03216u edit.jpg|thumb|A U.S. World War I poster ([[Harry Ryle Hopps|Harry R. Hopps]]; 1917) invites prospective recruits to symbolically save a "damsel in distress" from the monstrous Germans.]]
Damsels in distress have been cited as an example of differential treatment of genders in literature, film, and works of art. Feminist criticism of art, [[feminist film theory|film]], and [[feminist literary criticism|literature]] has often examined gender-oriented characterisation and plot, including the common "damsel in distress" trope, as perpetrating regressive and patronizing myths about women.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://feministfrequency.com/video/damsel-in-distress-part-2-tropes-vs-women/|title=Damsel in Distress (Part 2) Tropes vs Women|date=28 May 2013}}</ref><ref>See, e.g., Alison Lurie, "Fairy Tale Liberation", ''The New York Review of Books'', v. 15, n. 11 (Dec. 17, 1970) (germinal work in the field); Donald Haase, "Feminist Fairy-Tale Scholarship: A Critical Survey and Bibliography", ''Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies'' v.14, n.1 (2000).</ref> Many modern writers and directors, such as [[Anita Sarkeesian]], [[Angela Carter]] and [[Jane Yolen]], have revisited classic [[fairy tale]]s and "damsel in distress" stories or collected and anthologised stories and [[Folklore|folk tales]] that break{{clarify|date=January 2017}} the "damsel in distress" pattern.<ref>See Jane Yolen, "This Book Is For You", ''Marvels & Tales'', v. 14, n. 1 (2000) (essay); Yolen, ''Not One Damsel in Distress: World folktales for Strong Girls'' (anthology); Jack Zipes, ''Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Fairy Tales in North America and England'', Routledge: New York, 1986 (anthology).</ref>

==Empowered damsel==
{{Excessive examples|section|date=May 2025|comment=this article is way too long, and this section is noticeably excessive}}
Films featuring an empowered damsel date to the early days of [[filmmaking]]. One of the films most often associated with the stereotypical damsel in distress, ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]]'' (1914), also provides at least a partial counterexample, in that Pauline, played by [[Pearl White]], is a strong character who decides against early marriage in favor of seeking adventure and becoming an author. Despite common belief, the film does not feature scenes with Pauline tied to a railroad track and threatened by a buzzsaw, although such scenes were incorporated into later re-creations and were also featured in other films made in the period around 1914. Academic Ben Singer has contested the idea that these "serial-queen melodramas" were male fantasies and has observed that they were marketed heavily at women.<ref name="singer">{{cite book
 |first = Ben
 |last = Singer
 |editor=Richard Abel
 |title = Female Power in the Serial-Queen Melodrama: The Etiology of An Anomaly in Silent Film
 |publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group - Athlone
 |date=February 1999
 |pages = 168–177
 |isbn = 0-485-30076-1
}}</ref> The first motion picture serial made in the United States, ''[[What Happened to Mary?]]'' (1912), was released to coincide with a serial story of the same name published in McClure's ''Ladies' World'' magazine.

Empowered damsels were a feature of the serials made in the 1930s and 1940s by studios such as [[Republic Pictures]]. The "[[cliffhanger]]" scenes at the end of episodes provide many examples of female heroines bound and helpless and facing fiendish death traps. But those heroines, played by actresses such as [[Linda Stirling]] and [[Kay Aldridge]], were often strong, assertive women who ultimately played an active part in vanquishing the villains.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

[[C. L. Moore]]'s short story "[[Shambleau]]" (1933) – generally acknowledged as epoch-making in the history of [[science fiction]] – begins in what seems a classical damsel in distress situation: the protagonist, space adventurer [[Northwest Smith]], sees a "sweetly-made girl" pursued by a lynch mob intent on killing her and intervenes to save her, but finds her not a girl nor a human being at all, but a disguised alien creature, predatory and highly dangerous. Soon, Smith himself needs rescuing and barely escapes with his life.

These themes have received successive updates in modern-era characters, ranging from "spy girls" of the 1960s to current film and television heroines. In her book ''The Devil with James Bond'' (1967) Ann Boyd compared [[James Bond]] with an updating of the legend of [[Saint George]] and the "[[princess and dragon]]" genre, particularly with [[Julius No|Dr. No's]] dragon tank. The damsel in distress theme is also very prominent in ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (novel)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'', where the story is told in the [[First person narrative|first person]] by the young woman Vivienne Michel, who is threatened with imminent rape by thugs when Bond kills them and claims her as his reward.

The female spy [[Emma Peel]] in the 1960s television series ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' was often seen in "damsel in distress" situations. The character and her reactions, portrayed by actress [[Diana Rigg]], differentiated these scenes from other film and television scenarios where women were similarly imperiled as pure victims or pawns in the plot. A scene with Emma Peel bound and threatened with a [[death ray]] in the episode ''From Venus with Love'' is a direct parallel to James Bond's confrontation with a laser in the film ''[[Goldfinger (film)|Goldfinger]]''.<ref name="fromvenus">{{cite web
 |url = http://theavengers.tv/forever/peel2-1vr.htm
 |title = ''Visitor Reviews: From Venus With Love''
 |publisher = The Avengers Forever
 |access-date = 2007-05-11
}}</ref> Both are examples of the classic hero's ordeal as described by Campbell and Vogler. The serial heroines and Emma Peel are cited as providing inspiration for the creators of strong heroines in more recent times, ranging from Joan Wilder in ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'' and [[Princess Leia]] in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' to "post feminist" icons such as [[Buffy Summers]] from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', [[Xena]] and [[Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)|Gabrielle]] from ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'', [[Sydney Bristow]] from ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', [[Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Natasha Romanoff]] from the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], [[Kim Possible (character)|Kim Possible]] from the [[Kim Possible|series of the same name]], [[Sarah Connor (Terminator)|Sarah Connor]] from the [[Terminator (franchise)|''Terminator'' franchise]], and [[Veronica Mars (character)|Veronica Mars]], also from the [[Veronica Mars|series of the same name]].<ref>{{cite book
 |url = http://www.upne.com/0-8195-6757-4.html
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120919152140/http://www.upne.com/0-8195-6757-4.html
 |url-status = usurped
 |archive-date = September 19, 2012
 |title = Sex and The Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan
 |first = Lorna
 |last = Jowett
 |publisher = Wesleyan University Press
 |year = 2005
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 |url = http://www.rhizomes.net/issue4/graham.html
 |first = Paula
 |last = Graham
 |title = Buffy Wars: The Next Generation
 |journal = Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge
 |publisher = Bowling Green State University
 |issue = 4, Spring
 |year = 2002
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 |url = http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/confreport.php?issue=aug2004&id=915&section=conf_rep
 |first = Kerry
 |last = Gough
 |title = Active Heroines Study Day - John Moores University, Liverpool (in partnership with The Association for Research in Popular Fiction)
 |journal = Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies
 |publisher = Institute of Film & Television Studies, University of Nottingham
 |date=August 2004
}}</ref>

Reflecting these changes, [[Daphne Blake]] of the ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' cartoon series (who throughout the series is captured dozens of times, falls through trap doors, etc.) is portrayed in the [[Scooby-Doo (film)|''Scooby-Doo'' film]] as a wisecracking feminist heroine (quote: "I've had it with this damsel in distress thing!"). The film ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' (2009) includes a classical damsel in distress episode, where [[Irene Adler]] (played by [[Rachel McAdams]]) is helplessly bound to a conveyor belt in an industrial slaughterhouse, and is saved from being sawn in half by a chainsaw; yet in other episodes of the same film Adler is strong and assertive – for example, overcoming with contemptuous ease two thugs who sought to rob her (and robbing them instead). In the film's climax, it is Adler who saves the day, dismantling at the last moment a device set to poison the entire membership of Parliament.

In the final scene of the [[Walt Disney Pictures]] film ''[[Enchanted (film)|Enchanted]]'' (2007) the traditional roles are reversed when male protagonist Robert Philip ([[Patrick Dempsey]]) is captured by Queen Narissa ([[Susan Sarandon]]) in her dragon form. In a ''[[King Kong]]''–like fashion, she carries him to the top of a New York skyscraper, until Robert's beloved Giselle climbs it, sword in hand, to save him.

A similar role reversal is evident in [[Stieg Larsson]]'s ''[[The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo]]'', in whose climactic scene the male protagonist is captured by a [[serial killer]], locked in an underground torture room, chained, stripped naked, and humiliated when his female partner enters to save him and destroy the villain. Still another example is ''[[Foxglove Summer]]'', part of [[Ben Aaronovitch]]'s ''[[Rivers of London (novel)|Rivers of London]]'' series - where the protagonist Peter Grant is bound and taken captive by the Queen of the Faeries, and it is Grant's girlfriend who comes to rescue him, riding a Steel Horse.

Another role reversal is in ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' (1997), written and directed by [[James Cameron]]. After Jack Dawson is handcuffed to a pipe in the [[master-at-arms]]'s office to drown, Rose DeWitt Bukater leaves her family to rescue him and they head back to the upper deck.

In [[Robert J. Harris (writer)|Robert J. Harris]]'s [[World War II|WWII]] spy thriller ''The Thirty-One Kings'' (2017), the chivalrous protagonist [[Richard Hannay]] takes time off from his vital intelligence mission to help a beautiful young woman, harassed on a Paris street by two drunken men. She laughingly thanks him though saying she could have dealt with the men by herself. Hannay has no suspicion that she is herself the dangerous Nazi agent he had been sent to apprehend, and that she recognized him and knows his mission. Unsuspectingly he drinks the glass of brandy she offers him - whereupon he loses consciousness and wakes up securely bound. Gloating and jeering, the girl mocks Hannay for his sense of chivalry proving to be his undoing.<ref>[[Robert J. Harris (writer)|Robert J. Harris]], ''The Thirty-One Kings'', [[Polygon Books]], London 2017, p. 147.</ref> Destined to an ignominious watery death, it is the would be rescuer who is in very big distress; fortunately, his friends show up in the nick of time to save him from the clutches of the [[femme fatale]].

Conversely, [[Jo Nesbø]] revives a classical Damsel in distress trope in his 2007 crime novel ''[[The Snowman (Nesbø novel)|The Snowman]]''. Nesbø's protagonist [[Harry Hole]] is faced with his beloved Rakel having been bound and forced to sit on a fast-melting seat of ice; once it has melted she would fall into an infernal device and be torn to pieces. Harry Hole manages to save her, though at the price of suffering some mutilation himself.

==In video games==
{{See also|Gender representation in video games|Women and video games}}
In computer and video games, female characters are often cast in the role of the damsel in distress, with their rescue being the [[Game mechanics#Goals|objective]] of the game.<ref name="Tremblay2012">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KaitlinTremblay/20120601/171613/Intro_to_Gender_Criticism_for_Gamers_From_Princess_Peach_to_Claire_Redfield_to_FemSheps.php?print=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113230724/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KaitlinTremblay/20120601/171613/Intro_to_Gender_Criticism_for_Gamers_From_Princess_Peach_to_Claire_Redfield_to_FemSheps.php?print=1 | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 13, 2013 | title=Intro to Gender Criticism for Gamers: From Princess Peach, to Claire Redfield, to FemSheps. | publisher=[[Gamasutra]] | date=1 June 2012 | access-date=8 October 2013 | author=Kaitlin Tremblay}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-and-the-damsel-in-distress-520259897 | title=Shigeru Miyamoto and the Damsel In Distress | publisher=[[Kotaku]] | date=2013-06-20 | access-date=8 October 2013 | author=Stephen Totilo}}</ref> An early example of the damsel archetype in video games is [[Pauline (Nintendo)|Pauline]], a [[Nintendo]] character in the 1981 arcade game ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]''. The gameplay involves [[Mario]] rescuing her from the top of a construction site after she is kidnapped and held captive by a giant ape.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-17 |title=In Super Mario Odyssey Gaming's Original Damsel In Distress Might Finally Get Her Due |url=https://kotaku.com/in-super-mario-odyssey-gamings-original-damsel-in-distr-1796197665 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref>

In the ''[[Dragon's Lair]]'' game series, [[Princess Daphne (character)|Princess Daphne]], the beautiful daughter of King Aethelred, serves as the series' damsel in distress.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/amtix-magazine-17/Amtix_17_Mar_1987#page/n87/mode/2up/ |title=Amtix Magazine Issue 17 |date=March 1987 |access-date=2014-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gamer_Issue_18_1986-09_Argus_Press_GB#page/n49/mode/2up/ |title=Computer Gamer - Issue 18 (1986-09) (Argus Press) (UK) |date=September 1986 |access-date=2014-06-13}}</ref> The first ''[[Dragon's Lair (1983 video game)|Dragon's Lair]]'' game, released in 1983, involves the hero Dirk the Daring facing a series of challenges to rescue Daphne from a dragon named Singe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dragon's Lair Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dragons-lair-review/1900-2689629/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> Jon M. Gibson of [[GameSpy]] called her "the epitome" of the trope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/dragons-lair-3d/5597p1.html |title=GameSpy: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair - Page 1 |publisher=Xbox.gamespy.com |access-date=2014-06-13}}</ref>

[[Princess Peach]] throughout much of the ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' franchise is also a [[wikt:paradigm|paradigmatic]] example. She is repeatedly kidnapped across the ''[[Super Mario]]'' series, beginning with her debut in ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' in 1985. In most games in the series she is kidnapped and trapped in a castle by the villain [[Bowser]] and his minions in order for Mario to rescue her.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-13 |title=Thank You Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Game, Getting Kidnapped Again |url=https://kotaku.com/thank-you-mario-but-our-princess-is-in-another-game-g-5403956 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref> Peach has been described as the "quintessential damsel in distress" and her repeated abductions as a running joke and [[Popular culture|pop culture]] reference by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2017-06-30 |title=The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time |url=https://time.com/4836507/influential-video-game-characters/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=John |first=Tracey |date=2009-11-16 |title=The Princess Is In Another Freakin' Castle? |url=https://techland.time.com/2009/11/16/the-princess-is-in-another-freakin-castle/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |magazine=Time |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>  

[[Princess Zelda]] in the early ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series has been described by Gladys L. Knight in her book ''Female Action Heroes'' as "perhaps one [of] the most well-known 'damsel in distress' princesses in [[History of video games|video game history]]".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PKSFHwhTGYC&pg=PA62 |title=Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television |page=62 |isbn=978-0-313-37612-2 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |author=Knight, Gladys L. |year=2010}}</ref> In most games in the series she is given the role of a "princess in peril", requiring the hero, [[Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link]], to rescue her, although later games, such as ''[[Breath of the Wild]]'', presented her as a more realized character.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hilliard |first=Kyle |title=Everything We Know About Princess Zelda In Breath Of The Wild |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/02/21/everything-we-know-about-princess-zelda-in-breath-of-the-wild.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222104549/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/02/21/everything-we-know-about-princess-zelda-in-breath-of-the-wild.aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=2024-02-14 |magazine=Game Informer |language=en}}</ref>

In 1989, another Nintendo character, [[Princess Daisy]], was cast in the role of damsel in distress in ''[[Super Mario Land]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-11-09 |title=Page 2 {{!}} The History of Mario |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/the-history-of-mario-article?page=2 |access-date=2024-02-13 |work=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}</ref> In ''[[Prince of Persia (1989 video game)|Prince of Persia]]'', an imprisoned princess is the game's objective, necessitating the player character to rescue her.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prince of Persia Classic Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/prince-of-persia-classic-review/1900-6172519/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{commons category|Damsel in distress}}
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Courtly love]]
* [[Feminist film theory]]
* [[Feminist literary criticism]]
* [[Feminist science fiction]]
* [[Final girl]]
* [[Knight-errant]]
* [[Trope (literature)|Literary trope]]
* [[Male gaze]]
* [[Missing white woman syndrome]]
* [[Portrayal of women in comics]] 
* [[Portrayal of women in video games]]
* [[Predicament escape]]
* [[Princess and dragon]]
* [[Scream queen]]
* [[Stock character]]
* [[Strong female character]]
* [[Women in refrigerators]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Andromeda}}
* [[Mario Praz]] (1930) ''The Romantic Agony'' Chapter 3: 'The Shadow of the Divine Marquis'
* Robert K. Klepper, ''Silent Films, 1877-1996, A Critical Guide to 646 Movies'', pub. [[McFarland & Company]], {{ISBN|0-7864-2164-9}}

{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Stock characters}}

[[Category:Damsels in distress| ]]
[[Category:17th-century neologisms]]
[[Category:Sexual fetishism]]
[[Category:Stereotypes of women|Distress]]
[[Category:Female stock characters]]
[[Category:Fictional hostages and kidnapped people]]
[[Category:Women and the arts|Distress]]
[[Category:Tropes]]